1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a three-dimensional photograph and a process for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
The improvement of this invention is directed to a conventional three-dimensional photograph disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,159. A process for manufacturing the conventional three-dimensional photograph includes generating spatial and color data relating to an outside surface of a three-dimensional surface, such as a human subject, forming a mold having a concave surface corresponding to the outside surface of the subject, molding a hollow transparent plastic shell in the mold, applying a photographic material on an inside surface of the shell, and exposing the photographic material to provide a colored image on the photographic material for display through the transparent material of the shell. It is difficult to make the mold during this process, thereby resulting in high costs for making the conventional three-dimensional photograph. Moreover, the aforesaid conventional three-dimensional photograph is unlifelike.
An object of this invention is to provide a three-dimensional photograph which is inexpensive to make.
Another object of this invention is to provide a process for manufacturing a three-dimensional photograph, which does not require a mold-forming step, thereby resulting in lower manufacturing costs.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a lifelike three-dimensional photograph.
According to one aspect of this invention, a process for manufacturing a three-dimensional photograph includes:
establishing a three-dimensional coordinate system and subsequently generating a three-dimensional spatial image within the coordinate system;
dividing the image into a plurality of pixels and subsequently storing spatial data and color data of the pixels in a memory;
dividing the image into a plurality of image layers along a direction corresponding to a coordinate of the coordinate system;
providing a plurality of transparent plates and coloring a side surface of each of the plates at positions corresponding to the pixels in a respective one of the image layers, based on the spatial data and the color data in the memory; and
combining the transparent plates, thereby forming the photograph.
Preferably, each adjacent pair of the transparent plates are interconnected by means of a transparent adhesive layer which is made of a material that has a refractive index the same as that of the transparent plates, and an assembly of the combined transparent plates is coated with a transparent protective layer.
According to another aspect of this invention, a three-dimensional photograph includes a plurality of combined transparent plates. Each of the transparent plates has a first side surface and a second side surface. The first side surface of one of each adjacent pair of the transparent plates abuts against the second side surface of the other of the pair of the transparent plates. The first side surfaces of the transparent plates are colored so as to form a three-dimensional image.